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Who knew that the offices of The Villanovan, our University’s undergraduate newspaper would foster the development of a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist?
Diana K. Sugg, medical reporter for The Baltimore Sun and 1983 Villanova graduate has been awarded journalism’s most esteemed honor for her beat reporting. The Pulitzer Prize was awarded for her series of articles about sensitive medical issues. The Villanovan’s former editor-in-chief has penned multiple health-related articles, covering issues ranging from stillbirth to the practice of admitting family members into emergency room situations.

According to The Baltimore Sun’s web page, Tom Rosenstiel, a juror on the Pulitzer beat reporting committee said, “There were a lot of great entries, but everyone felt that Sugg’s writing really brought together the sense of technology and humanity that exists with the issue of medicine but is often hard to convey in journalism. There was a haunting quality to her writing that, when you are sitting there reading literally over 1,000 stories over the course of a couple of days, it takes something special to jump out and stick with you. Her writing does that.”
Sugg’s work focuses on controversial and sensitive medical issues that occur during medical crises. One of her more memorable articles was a piece about how doctors alert families to the death of a loved one. Her narrative about a mother comforting her young son in his final moments also received great attention.
After suffering from neurological conditions early in her journalistic career, Sugg’s articles began focusing on health related stories. She joined the staff of The Baltimore Sun in 1995 as a medical reporter.

In a 1997 piece for The Baltimore Sun, “What’s wrong with me,” Sugg explained that, “I became a health reporter, one who knew the big secret: that despite all the fanfare about miracles, modern medicine has only tapped the surface.”
Sugg’s dedicated reporting and ability to express sensitive issues in a remarkably compassionate and informative way have earned her this prestigious honor of becoming a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. Her combination of excellent reporting and clear writing continues to inspire readers.

After graduating from Villanova in 1983, Sugg earned a master’s degree in journalism on a Kiplinger Fellowship at Ohio State University. Before joining the staff at The Baltimore Sun, she also worked the crime beat at The Sacramento Bee.